November 28, 2016
Bestselling author Barry (The Lace Reader) brings readers into the historic town of Salem, Mass., where the parallels between a past crime and the present-day death of a teenage boy at the hanging site of the Salem witches seem all too familiar to the suspicious community. Rose, a once-respected Salem witch-trial historian and scholar who was the primary suspect in the unsolved Goddess murders, which rocked the town nearly 20 years ago, has never been the same after the humiliation of the investigation. Now a mentally unstable outcast, Rose is again the target of public scrutiny concerning the murder of the troubled teen. The chief of police, Rafferty, and Callie, Rose’s niece and daughter of one of the murdered women, aren’t convinced of Rose’s guilt. Whisked away from Salem under the care of nuns after the death of her mother, Callie was the sole witness to the Goddess murders and has been sheltered from much of her family history—until news of the murdered boy brings her again to Salem and memories begin flooding back during waking dreams. By reopening the Goddess-murder cases and relying on the power of modern magic, mythology, and history, Callie and Rafferty seek to uncover the true murderer. Dark and suspenseful, Barry’s well-constructed tale is filled with traps and red herrings as the truth is slowly revealed and Salem is forced to confront its sordid past.
September 1, 2016
Author of the New York Times best-selling The Lace Reader, Barry returns to spooky Salem for a 25-year-old triple homicide now being reinvestigated by Chief of Police John Rafferty, husband of lace reader Towner Whitney. Big interest at ALA; with a 150,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 1, 2016
While a few quibbling questions may bedevil fans of Barry's The Lace Reader, the many suspenseful, intriguing events presented in this sort-of-sequel are sure to haunt them. The suspicious death of a teenager on Halloween leads Salem, MA, chief of police John Rafferty, who is married to lace reader Towner Whitney, to wonder if this could be related to the town's most notorious cold case involving a triple homicide. Troubled Callie Cahill is the daughter of one of the victims in the 1989 crime but doesn't believe that wildly eccentric local historian Rose is capable of committing the latest killing. Could both incidents be linked to the notorious witch hunts of 1692? Barry paints an authentic portrait of both contemporary and historic Salem, yet the story really comes alive when the village is left behind and two characters take off to visit the mysterious tufo (limestone) caves of Italy. VERDICT Banshees, lost memories, and secret pasts each play a significant role in this novel; enthusiasts of the author's earlier work and readers interested in the history of witchcraft and the occult will enjoy this return visit to Salem. [See Prepub Alert, 8/1/16.]--Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.